Does anyone ever serve soup at Thanksgiving and what kind really goes with the meal?

Question

wouldnt like a soup with pumpkin in it. Or squash.

Answer 1

The Perfect Thanksgiving Soup

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sliced leeks, white parts only
1 tablespoon minced garlic
6 cups peeled and roughly diced butternut squash
3 cups peeled and roughly diced apples
2 teaspoons Toasted Spice Rub, recipe follows
6 1/2 cups chicken stock or 2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans low-sodium chicken broth mixed with 3 cups water
Sea salt, preferably gray salt
1 cup chopped Spiced Candied Walnuts, recipe follows, optional
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat, and cook until it turns nut brown. Add the leeks and cook until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and saute briefly to release its fragrance.
Add the squash and apples, raise the heat to high, and cook, stirring, until the vegetables begin to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Stir in the Toasted Spice Rub and cook briefly to toast it, about 1 minute.
Add the stock or broth-water mixture, bring to a simmer, and partially cover. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the squash and apples are tender, about 40 minutes.
Transfer in batches to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Return to the pot, reheat to serving temperature, and season with salt. Divide the soup among warmed bowls and garnish each portion with some of the walnuts, if using. Serve immediately.
Toasted Spice Rub:
1/4 cup fennel seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup pure California chili powder (about 1-ounce)
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
In a small heavy pan over medium heat, combine the fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and peppercorns. When the fennel turns light brown, work quickly. Turn on the exhaust fan, add the red pepper flakes, and toss, toss, toss, always under the fan. Immediately turn the spice mixture out onto a plate to cool. Put in a blender with the chili powder, salt, and cinnamon and blend until the spices are evenly ground. If you have a small spice mill or a coffee grinder dedicated to grinding spices, grind only the fennel, coriander, pepper, and chili flakes. Pour into a bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients.
Yield: about 1 cup
Spiced Candied Walnuts:
Peanut or canola oil
4 cups walnut halves
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch salt, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
In a large, heavy-bottomed skillet, heat about 1-inch of oil to 350 degrees F.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add walnuts and blanch for 30 seconds. Drain and transfer nuts to a medium bowl. While nuts are still hot and slightly wet, add confectioners' sugar and toss to coat nuts. Stir and toss until all the sugar has melted into the nuts; if bits of unmelted sugar remain on the nuts, they will not fry properly.
Stir the nuts again before frying. Using a large slotted spoon, transfer a few nuts to the hot oil, allowing the foam to subside before adding another spoonful. (Otherwise, the oil could foam over and burn you.) Fry in small batches until the nuts are medium brown, about 45 seconds per batch; be careful not to overcook. Scatter on an unlined baking sheet to cool slightly.
In a small bowl, stir together cayenne, cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and the pepper. While the nuts are still warm, transfer them to a bowl and sprinkle evenly with about half of the spice mix. Toss well to distribute the spices and then taste a nut. Add more spice mix, to taste, and toss well after each addition. When cool, pack in an airtight jar. They will keep at room temperature for at least 2 weeks.
Yield: 4 cups

Answer 2

Make a carrot-orange soup. It's light and has bright autumnal colors without pumpkin or other squash.

Alternatively, black bean with sherry is a classy start and (I think) a good fall-feeling soup.

I would steer clear of meat-based soups and creamy soups. Meat-based would either be too close to or different from the bird, and creamy ones might be too heavy before a big meal.

It depends a lot, I think, on what you're serving for dinner. But really... small servings of pureed veggie soups with bright, uncomplicated flavor would probably be a nice start.

Answer 3

A nice pumpkin or squash soup is really good especially served with a little sour cream, a dash of cinnamon and some seeded sourdough on the side. You can find great recipes on the food & wine website or on the food network website. If you want to be really fancy about it you can find instructions for how to roast a pumpkin and use it for a tureen from which to serve your soup. Good luck!

Answer 4

We often serve a butternut squash soup with a dollop of sour cream and sprig of mint as garnish as a first course with Thanksgiving dinner. I make it with a touch of white wine and some ginger to give it a bit of a tang and go light on the cream in it to keep it on the light side. It goes well with the meal and is appropriately seasonal.

Answer 5

My girlfriend used to serve this great soup every Thanksgiving. It was a big hit with family and friends.

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

1 (10 oz.) package of frozen spinach
1-1/2 C. pastina
1 C. bread crumbs
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 lb. ground beef
1 tsp. dried parsley
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 C. grated parmesan cheese
2 C. water
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 tsp. dried basil
6 C. chicken broth

Combine meat, egg, bread crumbs, spices and cheese (optional) in medium sized bowl. Mix well. Shape into small meatballs (use about 1 teaspoon of mixture per meatball). Heat olive oil in large skillet. Saute meatballs over medium-high heat, turning often, until just done (about 5 minutes.) Do not overcook as the meatballs will get further cooking in soup. Set aside. Bring broth and water to boil in large saucepan or Dutch oven. Reduce heat to low. Add meatballs, pasta and spinach. Cover and simmer until pasta is done (about 10 minutes.) Makes about 8 servings.

Answer 6

We dont have Thanksgiving here in Oz but if I was to serve a soup it would be French Onion-something to get the taste buds going.

Answer 7

That sounds interesting and I'd be willing to try it, but if I were going to go with soup on Thanksgiving, I would go with something more traditional, like vegetable. You have to think about the kids and the old people, or people that don't like anything new or different. If it were a group of me and my middle-aged peers, I think it would be fine.

Answer 8

OK, so take all the fun out of it. Then I'd recommend a chicken with wild rice or a roasted tomato soup.

Answer 9

I think that home made cream of broccoli soup sounds good since I am making broccoli casserole. So do you agree?

Answer 10

Yes. First course. Squash. Go to Safeway, they're pro's!